Research on the utilization efficiency enhancement of geothermal resource in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt under the background of “dual carbon”

In the background of the “dual carbon”, facing the dual pressures of energy scarcity and climate change, the large-scale development of green and low-carbon renewable energy, optimizing the energy structure, and improving energy efficiency have become important ways to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. The exploitation and utilization of wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy, among others, are key tasks for green and low-carbon energy development both now and in the future. Geothermal resources, as one of the five major non-carbon-based renewable energy sources, have advantages such as abundant reserves, wide distribution, long service life, high energy efficiency, and significant energy-saving and emission-reduction potential. The vigorous development of the geothermal industry is of great significance for ensuring national energy security and promoting the optimization of the energy structure. This paper takes the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, a region with a high level of economic development but insufficient energy supply, as the research object. Through an in-depth analysis of the geothermal resource endowment and development status in the region, it finds that the region is in a dilemma where the potential for geothermal resource utilization is huge, but its overall efficiency remains low. The paper analyzes the problems and reasons from four aspects: policy support, technological development, management coordination mechanisms, and marketization and commercialization. Based on national policies, industry development, and local needs, the following suggestions are proposed: broaden application scenarios and explore integrated and cascading utilization of geothermal resources; leverage the advantages of new quality productive forces to empower the innovative development of the geothermal industry; strengthen policy support and accelerate the “geothermal + multi-energy” complementary and interactive development; and achieve interconnectivity among resources, policies, and technologies. For the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which face energy shortages such as a lack of coal, oil, and natural gas, accelerating the development and utilization of geothermal resources will not only help alleviate energy supply and demand conflicts but also promote green and low-carbontransformation, economic development, improve people’s livelihoods, and enhance environmental quality.